Friday, October 2, 2009

Daily Hindu Prayers

Cleanliness of body and mind is considered very important by Hindus. As the old-age saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", to decrease the separation of us from God, we need to purify the body as well as mind during bath. When one takes bath in the early morning, he needs to meditate Maha Vishnu in mind and chant this short mantra.

There are many different stotras and mantras a Hindu is supposed to chant in the morning. Karagra Vasathe Lakshmi is one such stotram a Hindu devotee needs to chant as soon as he wakes up from his bed.

How to chant this mantra - One needs to look at his palms and in the mind think that Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswati and Govinda (Vishnu) is present in his palm. It is believed that the first thing a man sees in the morning determines one’s day.

Samudra Vasane Devi is one of the daily Hindu prayers addressed to the Bhumi Devi. Hindus consider Earth (Bhumi Devi or Bhu Devi) as a Goddess. Bhumi Devi or Bhudevi is the consort of Lord Varaha, one of the 10 Avatars of Lord Maha Vishnu. Hence Hindus consider Bhuma Devi (Earth) as our mother and we need to ask her to pardon befor seeting our foot on her.

This is the daily prayer addressed to Bhumi Devi as soon as one wakes up from bed and before setting his foot on earth.

Agni or the God of Fire is considered as the one of the greatest Gods by Hindus. Agni, the most important of the Vedic gods, is the mediator between the devotee and the Gods. Agni Deva is the acceptor of sacrifices and all the offerings we made to Fire God (Agni) goes to the deities because Agni Deva acts as a bridge or messages between us and other Gods.

According to the sages, we need to pray this prayer daily when we lit the Lamp